It’s been over a month since Kim Kardashian was seen wearing Marilyn Monroe’s famous dress at the Met Gala. Now, the reality star has finally opened up on the claims that she damaged the iconic dress…
She also claimed that a lot of people didn’t even know who Marilyn Monroe was before Kim Kardashian wore her dress.
Scroll on to see what she had to say…
Now, the Kardashian/ Jenner clan is quite well known.
They’ve all starred in one of the most successful reality shows of all time and each of the sisters has a massive influence on social media.
They’ve most certainly climbed their way to the top of the ladder.
They’re truly impressive entrepreneurs and businesswomen. Whatever you think about them, you can’t deny that they’ve done well for themselves.
Because they’ve not always been as impressive as they are now.
Sure, they’ve always had an element of wealth and fame — but back when Keeping Up With The Kardashians started, the sisters certainly weren’t the biggest Hollywood success story.
No matter what people have had to say in the past…
More and more, the family is being respected as major players, particularly in the realms of fashion and beauty.
We hear something new about their lives everyday.
The Kardashian-Jenners are never far from the headlines.
And they do get their fair share of criticism.
Yep, fans are continually calling out the sisters for donning culturally appropriating hairstyles such as cornrows.
The famous family is often very open about the plastic surgery they’ve had done, as well.
But something that fans often point out is their excessive use of photoshop.
1 person, in particular, is constantly making waves.
The second eldest of the clan, Kim Kardashian.
Who, despite what people think, is really quite clever.
Similar to her younger sister, Kylie Jenner, the star now runs her highly successful beauty empire, KKW Beauty, and has established herself as a successful entrepreneur.
She never fails to impress people, either.
Never falling short of head-turning fashion moments.
The reality star also reportedly began a 4-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco in 2019.
And she will be taking the state’s exams in 2022 in order to qualify. So, it’s technically not law school, but California is one of the only states in which you can still take the bar exam and train to become a lawyer without a college or law school degree.
Given the fact that she is hardly strapped for cash, and has 4 kids, a beauty empire, and prying paps on her plate…
It’s pretty clear that she is passionate about her future law career.
But, not everyone was on board.
The general consensus was that she should “stay in her lane” and that anything that veers outside the beauty and fashion-related spectacle she has created from her reality TV fame, is totally unacceptable for her to pursue.
Although, she has done some good for people with her law practice.
She used her celebrity status for good and managed to successfully convince Donald Trump to commute the prison sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a grandmother serving life in prison without parole for a non-violent drug crime, VOX reports.
But that wasn’t all…
The star quietly helped fund the “90 Days of Freedom” Campaign, which has helped free seventeen first-time nonviolent drug offenders and was even called by The White House to advise to help change the system of clemency.
Despite her success, though, she has faced a lot of controversies.
Remember when the star was accused of blackface?
This came after the photo shoot was for 7Hollywood was released and her skin had been noticeably darkened.
Whether it was spray tan, strange lighting, or overuse of photoshop, it’s not a stretch to say that Kim was unrecognizable.
And, people always have a lot to say about her parenting techniques, too.
Whether it’s letting her daughter, North, wear makeup or allowing her to wear hooped earrings — the parent-shamers are never far away.
Whatever happens in the Kardashian clan, we hear about it.
Kim can barely go a week without being in the headlines.
And the past month has been no different since the billionaire beauty mogul shared what she did to fit into her dress for this year’s Met Gala.
It’s pretty extreme.
People have been sharing their opinions online after Kim revealed she lost sixteen pounds in twenty-one days…
One angry Facebook user wrote: “I feel like it’s important for people, especially young women, to know this isn’t normal, healthy or attainable for the average person. That’s a weight loss of 5 pounds per week. Why are you praising such a rapid weight loss?”
Another wrote: “This is such an unhealthy thing to be promoting it’s essentially glamorizing eating disorders. No garment of clothing is important enough to put your body through that kind of stress.”
A third commented: “I like Kim K but she’s not an icon the way Marilyn is an ICON, maybe in 20 years but this dress should have stayed in an archive or museum, it should not have been worn.”
By now, everyone knows that Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s famous dress.
The dress she wore when she sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to JFK.
According to an interview with La La Anthony on the red carpet, Kim tried the dress on just 3 weeks before the event and it didn’t fit…
So she went to extremes to fit into the classic gown, losing sixteen pounds in the weeks leading up to the Gala.
Now, it should go without saying, that isn’t a healthy thing to do, and Kim will have had experts helping with her nutrition and exercise.
But it’s not only her diet that received backlash.
It was the fact she wore the dress in the first place.
Some even called it “creepy.”
But the majority were shocked that such a historically prominent dress was allowed to be worn again…
Due to the damage that could have been caused to it.
Even fashion designer Bob Mackie spoke out…
Mackie famously drew the sketch for the original gown when he was an assistant to Jean Louis.
“I thought it was a big mistake,” he admitted about Kim’s dress choice.
Mackie told EW: “[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”
Turner Classic Movies host Alicia Malone also spoke about the impact on the dress, after talking with Mackie…
“There are all the issues with the actual preservation of the dress and things like oxygen can affect a dress,” she explains. “Usually, these outfits are kept very much in controlled environments and we see that with the Met. The Costume Institute is so careful about how they are handling these historic items. So, it was quite alarming that she was able to wear it. I personally wish she wore a replica instead of the real thing.”
She continued: “You can draw many parallels between Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian in the way that they’re both very publicity savvy.”
“Of course, this was very much a publicity stunt that worked for Kim Kardashian. Marilyn Monroe was someone who also loved to create sensation, as she did with that naked dress. Also, they are women who have changed the ideal beauty of the moment. Marilyn Monroe, when she came in her curves became very popular during the 1950s. And we see a lot of young women trying to look like Kim Kardashian. For better or worse, she’s changed the ideal body shape for women.”
Malone states that Monroe was “such a mess of contradictions,” and that “she’s not easy to place in a box and that’s why she has that appeal.”
She concluded: “I don’t know what Kim Kardashian sees in Marilyn herself or how much she knows about her history. But definitely, now, Kim will be tied to that dress as Marilyn is — so it’ll be the Marilyn Monroe dress that Kim Kardashian also wore to the Met Gala.”
And their comments certainly had elements of truth, as new pictures seem to claim that Monroe’s famous dress was damaged that night…
The Marilyn Monroe Collection took to Instagram on Monday, sharing photos of the dress they claim is now on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
They said the dress had “missing crystals,” with some “left hanging by a thread.”
The photos, which have since gone viral, were reportedly snapped on June 12, by ChadMichael Morrisette at the Hollywood location of the museum where the dress is displayed.
The Marilyn Monroe Collection also commented on the state of the dress, writing: “So much for keeping ‘the integrity of the dress and the preservation.’ @ripleysbelieveitornot, was it worth it?”
Back in May, Ripley’s wrote: “‘Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history.” Adding: “With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority. Believe It or Not! no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet!”
Despite their comments, the photos clearly show the dress has been compromised, whether that was before or after Kim wore it.
However, Ripley’s has since spoken out again, claiming that Kim did not damage the dress that night.
In a statement, they assured that they “can say with confidence” that Kim did not “cause damage” to the dress.
The full statement posted on their Instagram said: “Kim Kardashian’s walk up the Metropolitan Museum’s stairs at this year’s Met Gala caused quite the stir, but one thing Ripley’s Believe It or Not! can say with confidence is that it did not cause damage to Marilyn Monroe’s famed ‘Happy Birthday’ dress from 1962.”
“Our mission is to both entertain and educate visitors and fans, and sparking conversations like the discourse around Marilyn Monroe’s dress does just that.
“No matter which side of the debate you are on, the historical importance of the dress has not been negated but rather highlighted.”
“An entirely new group of young people has now been introduced to the legacy of Marilyn Monroe.”
Ripley’s continued: “Kim Kardashian wearing the ‘Happy Birthday’ dress has been hotly contested, but the fact remains that she did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala.”
Ripley’s employee, Amanda Joiner, who watched over the dress, said that “from the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned, the dress was in the same condition it started in.”
And now, Kim herself has spoken out for the first time to address the claims.
She told TODAY on Tuesday that she “showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers and I put the dress on at the bottom of the carpet, went up the stairs.”
She recalled: “I probably had it on for three minutes, four minutes, and then I changed right at the top of the stairs.”
She added: “There were handlers in gloves that put it on me.”
The reality star later explained that she respected Monroe greatly, and understood “how much this dress means to American history.”
You can watch part of the interview here.
That’s not the only thing the reality star claimed, though.
She also said that a lot of people didn’t know who Marilyn Monroe was before Kim Kardashian wore the dress.
Talking on the TODAY Show, the Kardashian said that a lot of people on TikTok did not know who Monroe was…
And it shocked her.
The TODAY host, Savannah, mentioned that Kim had said she was “shocked on TikTok,” because some people “didn’t even know who Marilyn Monroe was.”
“That was the most shocking thing to me,” she began.
“That’s why I was so happy to at least have that opportunity and that Ripley’s gave me the opportunity to share this moment so that it could live on,” she continued.
“I respect her. I understand how much this dress means to American history and with the theme being American than Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday to the President of the United States?” she expressed.
You can watch the full interview here.
What do you think?